Health encyclopaedia - Alphabetical Topic List

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Causes of Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

The main cause of COPD is smoking. The likelihood of developing COPD increases the more you smoke and the longer you have been smoking.

Other (much less common) causes are passive smoking, pollution, fumes, and dust.

If the airways of the lungs (bronchi) are inflamed or the air sacs (alveoli) are damaged and the airways narrowed, you will have difficulty breathing in and out.